Jan. 20, 1972:
Secretariat was shipped from Virginia to Florida to be
trained by Lucien Laurin.

June 15, 1972:
In preparation for his July 4 debut, Secretariat
worked five furlongs from the starting gate in 1:00 1-5.

July 4, 1972:
Two-year-old Secretariat, ridden by Paul Feliciano,
ran fourth to winner Herbull in his racing debut,
blocked badly throughout the race,
at Aqueduct.
It was the poorest placing of Secretariat's career.

July 15, 1972:
After finishing fourth in his racing debut on July 4,
Secretariat won his first race, under jockey Paul Feliciano.
The
six-length
victory occurred at Aqueduct.

July 29, 1972:
In preparation for a July 31 race at Saratoga,
Secretariat went three furlongs in :35.

July 31, 1972:
Secretariat, ridden for the first time by
Ron Turcotte,
won his second victory in three starts, on opening day
at
Saratoga
Racecourse.
The pair were sent off at odds of 2-5.

Aug. 11, 1972:
In preparation for his stakes-racing debut,
the Aug. 16 Sanford at
Saratoga Racecourse,
Secretariat worked five furlongs in :59.

Aug. 16, 1972:
Secretariat won his first stakes race, the Sanford Stakes, at
Saratoga Racecourse.
The time for the six-furlong race was 1:10, the fastest
time for the distance at Saratoga that year.

Aug. 26, 1972:
Secretariat won the Hopeful Stakes by five lengths at
Saratoga Racecourse, for his second stakes win in as many tries.

Sept. 16, 1972:
Sent off at odds of 1-5, Secretariat won the
Futurity Stakes at Belmont Park by 1 3-4 lengths,
creating a minus show
pool
at the track of $4,985.

Oct. 14, 1972:
After finishing first in the Champagne Stakes at
Belmont Park, Secretariat was disqualified
and placed second, after bearing
in on Stop the Music, who was declared the official winner.

Oct. 28, 1972:
Secretariat won the Laurel Futurity by eight lengths,
sent off at odds of 1-10, at Laurel.

Nov. 18, 1972:
Secretariat capped his two-year-old racing season
with a 3 1-2 length victory in
the Garden State Stakes at Garden State Park.
The winner's share of the purse was $179,199, the most Secretariat ever
won in a single race.

Jan.
27, 1973:
Penny Chenery accepted the Eclipse Award for Horse of
the Year on behalf of Secretariat, who was also voted champion
two-year-old
of 1972.

Feb. 26, 1973:
With Secretariat having been named Horse of the Year
for 1972 and champion two-year-old, it was announced by Claiborne Farm
that
the colt had been syndicated for a then-record $6,080,000-equivalent to 32
shares at $190,000 each.

March 14, 1973:
In his final preparation for the March 17 Bay Shore
Stakes, the first race of his three-year-old season, Secretariat worked
three furlongs in a blistering :32 3/5.

April 7, 1973:
In his second start as a three-year-old, Secretariat won the
Gotham Stakes at Aqueduct as the 1-10 favorite. His time of 1:33 2-5 for
the
mile equaled the track record for that distance.

April 21, 1973:
In a surprising defeat, Secretariat finished third to
stablemate Angle Light and runner-up Sham in the Wood Memorial Stakes at
Aqueduct, his last start before sweeping the Triple Crown. The following
day, Secretariat was found to have had an abscess in his mouth, which may
have caused him discomfort while racing.

April 23, 1973:
Secretariat and his stablemate Angle Light were flown to
Louisville, Ky., to prepare for the Kentucky Derby.

April 27, 1973:
At Churchill Downs, Secretariat worked six furlongs in 1:12
3/5 in preparation for the May 5 Kentucky Derby.

May 2, 1973:
In his last workout prior to the Kentucky Derby, Secretariat
went five furlongs in :58 3/5.

May 5, 1973:
Secretariat became the first horse
to complete the 1 1/4-mile course for the Kentucky Derby
in less than two minutes when he won the 99th
Run for the Roses in a record 1:59 2/5, which was 3/5 faster than
Northern Dancer's 1964 mark of 2:00, to set a track and stakes record that
still
holds. He ran each successive quarter-mile of the race faster
than the previous one, with split times of :
25 1/5, :24, :23 4/5, :23 2/5 and :23.

May 7, 1973:
Secretariat was flown to Pimlico Racecourse
to prepare for the Preakness Stakes after his record-breaking performance
in the Kentucky Derby.

May 13, 1973:
Secretariat worked five furlongs in :57 2/5 at Pimlico
Racecourse in preparation for the May 19 Preakness Stakes. He was eased
after completing his workout distance, but still ran six furlongs in 1:10.

May 19, 1973:
Secretariat's winning performance in the Preakness Stakes was
marred by a controversy over the timing of the race. The original
teletimer
time was 1:55 for the 1 3/16-mile race;
Pimlico amended it to 1:54 2/5 two days later.

May 20, 1973:
Having won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes,
Secretariat shipped from Pimlico to New York in preparation for the
Belmont
Stakes, final jewel in the Triple Crown.

June 1, 1973:
In his final tuneup for the Belmont Stakes
and the Triple Crown,
Secretariat went six furlongs in 1:11 3/5, doing the first three
furlongs in :35 2/5 and five furlongs in :59.

June 9, 1973:
Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes by 31 lengths-the longest
winning margin in the race's history-while setting a track record of 2:24,
which has not been surpassed.
The time was 2 3/5 seconds faster than the
mark set by Gallant Man in 1957. Secretariat's victory made him the ninth
Triple Crown winner
and first since Citation had swept the
Derby, Preakness and Belmont in 1948.

June 11, 1973:
Triple Crown winner Secretariat simultaneously made the
covers of Time, Newsweek and Sports Illustrated.

June 19, 1973:
Officials of Arlington Park invited Secretariat to compete in
a specially created race, the $125,000 Arlington Invitational Stakes.

July 27, 1973:
In preparation for the Aug. 4 Whitney Stakes,
Secretariat worked a mile at Saratoga Racecourse in 1:34
over a muddy
track.
His workout time was 4-5 of a second
lower than the 55-year-old track
record
for the distance.
He galloped out another eighth of a mile for a final
time
of 1:47 4-5, which was 2-5 of a second
lower than the track record.

Aug. 4, 1973:
In his first race against older horses, 1-10 favorite
Secretariat was defeated in the Whitney Stakes at Saratoga by
Allen Jerkens'
four-year-old trainee Onion, who beat him by a length.
Secretariat was
subsequently found to be suffering from a virus.

Sept. 12, 1973:
Fully recovered from a virus that had beset him at Saratoga,
Secretariat worked five furlongs in :57
as his last preparation for the
Marlboro Cup Invitational Handicap.

Sept. 15, 1973:
Secretariat won the Marlboro Cup Invitational
Handicap in the then-world record
time of 1:45 2-5 for 1 1-8 miles.
He
defeated his stablemate, Riva Ridge, by 3 1-2 lengths.
The winner's share
of
the purse, $150,000, made Secretariat a millionaire.

Sept. 17, 1973:
Penny Chenery announced that Secretariat would make
his inaugural start on the turf in the Oct. 8th
Man o' War Stakes at
Belmont
Park.

Sept. 21, 1973:
Secretariat had his first workout
on a turf course,
going a half-mile in :48 3-5 at Belmont Park.

Sept. 29, 1973:
With Meadow Stable's Riva Ridge scratched because of
rainy weather, his stablemate Secretariat
was left to compete in the 1 1-2
mile Woodward Stakes at Belmont Park.
Prove Out, trained by Allen Jerkens,
beat the 3-10 favorite Secretariat, who faded after 1 1-4 miles to finish
second by 4 1-2 lengths. Another Jerkens trainee, Onion, had defeated
Secretariat in the Whitney Stakes on Aug. 4 at Saratoga.

Oct. 8, 1973:
Secretariat made his grass-racing debut in the Man o'
War Stakes at Belmont Park, winning the
1 1-2-mile race by five lengths in
a
time of 2:24 4-5. He overran the finish line by another furlong,
running 15-8 miles in a world-record-equaling time of 2:37 4-5.

Oct. 18, 1973:
The owners of Secretariat announced that his last
race would be the Canadian International Championship Stakes at Woodbine
Racecourse.

Oct. 22, 1973:
Secretariat was flown to Woodbine Racecourse, where
he would compete in his final career race,
the Canadian International Championship Stakes

Oct. 28, 1973:
With jockey Eddie Maple substituting for Ron Turcotte,
who was sidelined by a suspension,
Secretariat concluded his
racing career with a 6 1-2 length victory in the
Canadian International Championship Stakes
at Woodbine Racecourse.
It was his second victory in as
many tries on the turf.

May 19, 1999:
Secretariat was honored as the 35th greatest athlete of the
20th Century by ESPN's SportsCentury, a series of programs profiling the
top
athletes of the past 100 years.
Secretariat was the only non-human to make the top 50.

Click to enlarge

Coglianese Photo courtesy of The Thoroughbred Record

Jan. 1, 1975:
Secretariat was represented by his first Thoroughbred foal,
a filly named Miss Secretariat,
born in Kentucky to the mare My Card.